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For most players, the best setup is both: use an outdoor C.A.M.P. for practical services and an underground C.A.M.P. Shelter for a persistent, customizable interior. Shelters cannot host Allies, Food, Water, Resources, or Displays, so they cannot replace a functional outdoor base. Bethesda calls the underground feature a C.A.M.P. Shelter; “hideout” is a useful shorthand, not its official name.
What is the difference between a hideout and a C.A.M.P.?
A C.A.M.P. is your outdoor base in the game world. A Shelter is an instanced interior that you enter through a Shelter Entrance built in a C.A.M.P.; it does not take the place of that outdoor base. Bethesda introduced Shelters with the Steel Dawn update, describing them as instanced spaces with build budgets separate from the main C.A.M.P. (Steel Dawn update notes; Bethesda support: C.A.M.P. Shelters).
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Which base fits your priorities?
| If you want… | Choose | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Allies, Food, Water, resource objects, or Displays | Outdoor C.A.M.P. | Bethesda excludes these build categories from Shelters (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P. Shelters). |
| A visible outdoor base and public map presence | Outdoor C.A.M.P. | Your active C.A.M.P. can appear on the map when its public icon is enabled (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P.s). |
| A themed interior or more flexible decoration | Shelter | It has its own build budget and more relaxed placement rules, including floating objects, toggled snapping, and relaxed boundary and clipping behavior (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P. Shelters). |
| A build that persists when you relocate your outdoor base | Shelter | The interior is saved if you relocate the C.A.M.P. or an entrance is moved or destroyed (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P. Shelters). |
| To avoid a loot bag on death inside the build | Shelter | Bethesda lists this as a Shelter feature (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P. Shelters). |
| Functional services plus a custom interior | Both | Build the services outside and use the Shelter entrance for your interior project. |
Why an outdoor C.A.M.P. is still essential
The biggest practical distinction is what you can build. Shelters prohibit Allies, Food, Water, Resources, and Displays. If you use those categories, keep them in your outdoor C.A.M.P. The outdoor base also gives you a visible location in the world; enabling its public map icon lets other players see it.
Multiple outdoor bases are an option: Bethesda’s support page says players can maintain up to ten C.A.M.P.s at once. That capacity does not make one type universally better; it simply gives players room to plan more than one outdoor location (Bethesda support: C.A.M.P.s).
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What makes a Shelter better for building?
A Shelter is suited to a dedicated interior project. Each Shelter has a build budget separate from the main C.A.M.P. and from other Shelters, and Bethesda documents more permissive placement options, including the ability to float objects, toggle snapping, and work with relaxed boundaries and clipping rules. The first three Shelters were documented as having larger budgets than the main C.A.M.P. at that time, but Bethesda’s documentation gives no figure; that historical comparison should not be treated as a current quantified budget advantage.
The interior also persists when the outdoor C.A.M.P. is relocated, or when its entrance is moved or destroyed. This makes it practical to redesign or move the outdoor base without losing the Shelter interior.
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How to use the two together
- Build an outdoor C.A.M.P. where you want your above-ground base and services.
- Place the associated Shelter Entrance as part of that C.A.M.P.
- Keep Allies, Food, Water, Resources, and Displays outside, since Shelters do not allow those categories.
- Use the Shelter for its separate-budget interior build, taking advantage of its more relaxed placement options.
Bethesda’s Shelter guidance describes how entrances and interiors work; its C.A.M.P. support page covers managing outdoor bases.
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